Grants:PEG/WM US-NYC/Internship Program 3/Report

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Report accepted
This report for a Project and Event grant approved in FY 2010-11 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.
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Video donation by World Monuments Fund of the endangered Angkor Wat temple site.
Some of the WikiBus attendees arrive in the DC hostel, following Wikimania Takes Manhattan tours.
Wikipedia Loves Libraries at Metropolitan New York Library Council, an outgrowth of the latter wiki-workhops, and a spur to further relationship-building.

Project Goal: To expand Wikimedia NYC's capacity for working in the real world and interacting with local institutions though a student internship program.

Description of actual activities: $3000 for which to account.

The promise was that the grant would over outreach activities, including collaborations with universities and cultural institutions, between June 1, 2010 and about June 1, 2011.

A. Dixon. Furthered ongoing relationships with the Connecting NYC initiative, neighborhood community groups, and local universities.
Helped establish pioneering video content donation by World Wildlife Fund as part of the larger Wikipedia Video and Education Working Group initiative.
R. Garcia. Assisted in completion of IRS Form 1023 and related 501(c)(3) documents, corresponded with legal counsel in aid of our receiving non-profit status, created and maintained the Chapter website, submitted numerous reports on previously credited grants (e.g., this one) and applications for new grants or grant reapportionment (see Grants namespace), tracked financial statements with double-entry bookkeeping and budgeted three fiscal years, traveled with the Chapter to Boston, MA for the first Wikipedia in Higher Education Summit. Blurpeace 17:42, 27 November 2013 (UTC)
P. Coti. Was able to design plans to further the chapter. Worked with all members on working towards improving the way the chapter functioned. Also helped with independent fundraising and organizing WikiBus. The experiences I gained helped me understand the intricacies of chapter management which I now use for the (proposed) Thematic Chapter - Wiki Project Med. Peter.C (talk) 17:26, 27 November 2013 (UTC)
Part-time office space. Extended Kick start office space, for part-time use and complementary role with internship program. Also held a couple of further wiki-workshops in the space, which spun out to a specialized wiki-workshop at Metropolitan New York Library Council (and helping spur their later Wikipedian In Residence program).

What lessons were learned that could help others succeed in similar projects?

  • The project succeeded in bringing in new expertise and energy into the organization. Something we learned, from this and the previous internship projects, is that the type of work needed from prospective interns evolved with the development of our organization: At first, specialized outside expertise was most valuable in securing initial connections to institutional partners, while later more of a focus was needed on buttressing internal Wikimedian organization. The attempt to grow the program to cover several internships at once was overambitious, as we did not have the scale of volunteer infrastructure at that stage, and this necessitated more of a sequential than parallel approach. We expect this mix of needed competencies to evolve further as the organization continues its development.

What impact did the project have on WMF mission goals of Increased Reach, Increased Quality, Increased Credibility, Increased and Diversified Participation?

  • The project increased quality directly through the video donations from the World Monuments Fund, which also spurred the better written development of video-illustrated articles. We increased reach and diversified participation through several academic, library and neighborhood community group outreach efforts. We laid the groundwork to increased credibility through the completion of 501(c)(3) status and the development of better financial recordkeeping.

Detail of expenditures:

  • A. Dixon: $500 - intern stipend for Summer 2010
  • R. Garcia: $500 - intern stipend for Summer 2011
  • P. Coti: $500 - intern stipend for Spring 2012
  • Part-time office space: $600, $100 per month for July 2011-December 2011
  • July
  • August

Amount underspent in US Dollars:

The funds remaining from this grant in the amount of US$900 were deducted from another grant payment for Grants:PEG/WM_US-NYC/WikiConference_USA_2014.
  • $900

Will you be requesting re-allocation of remaining grant funding?

  • Yes, we will apply for remaining funding to help support a revamped internship/fellowship program.
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